Science, Tech, Math › Science Element Color Quiz See If You Know the Colors of the Chemical Elements Take this chemistry quiz to see if you know what color the chemical elements are in pure form. Bar?s Muratoglu / Getty Images Science Chemistry Periodic Table Basics Chemical Laws Molecules Projects & Experiments Scientific Method Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Medical Chemistry Chemistry In Everyday Life Famous Chemists Activities for Kids Abbreviations & Acronyms Biology Physics Geology Astronomy Weather & Climate By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Chemistry Expert Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on March 06, 2017 1. Carbon comes in forms including clear diamond and gray graphite. However, the most common color of pure carbon is: black white metallic silver yellow Correct Wrong Most carbon is found as charcoal and amorphous carbon black. 2. Bromine is the only non-metallic element that is a liquid at room temperature. The color of bromine is: metallic silver pink reddish brown oily black green Correct Wrong Bromine has a distinctive reddish-brown color, not seen in any other pure element. 3. Chlorine gas is: colorless white pale pink greenish-yellow Correct Wrong Chlorine gas and liquid are yellow. 4. Which of the following is not a typical color for phosphorus? yellow-white metallic gold red violet-black Correct Wrong Phosphorus is a nonmetal. It takes a lot of different appearances, but it doesn't resemble a metal. The black form has a slight metallic sheen, but it doesn't look like gold. 5. Fluorine gas is: colorless opaque white bright lime green yellowish, maybe faintly green or brown Correct Wrong Actually, this is sort of a trick question. If there is enough gas, fluorine looks much like chlorine, just a bit more brown. At low pressure, fluorine and just about any other gas appears colorless. 6. The color of pure radium is: metallic white steely blue gray glowing translucent green black Correct Wrong Radium is a shiny white metal. However, it can oxidize a darker color, so if you guessed gray, that's not bad. The green glow associated with radium is not from the element. It's actually from a phosphor that absorbs energy from radioactive decay and uses it to emit light. 7. Pure copper is? reddish metallic metallic silver greenish gold blue gray Correct Wrong Copper is the only metal that is reddish in pure form. Alloys, like red gold and bronze, get their color because they contain some copper. 8. Beryllium is colored: metallic white yellowish white steel gray deepest midnight black Correct Wrong Beryllium is gray and mysterious-looking. It's not quite black, but that would have been a fair guess. 9. Elemental sulfur is colorless white yellow red Correct Wrong Solid sulfur is yellow. However, the molten liquid is orange-red. If you guessed that, pretend you got the answer right! 10. Solid iodine is? clear white silver dark reddish brown purplish gray to black Correct Wrong Iodine gas is beautiful purple color. The liquid and solid are much more deeply colored. The solid is violet to an almost metallic-looking black. Element Color Quiz You got: % Correct. Kind of Clueless About Element Colors Gael Conrad / Getty Images Nice try! You made the effort to get through the quiz, so you learned about element colors. If you're ever asked to guess the color of an unknown element, say it's silver or gray. About 75% of the elements on the periodic table are silver-colored metals. Where can you go next? Start your journey learning about elements by viewing the ones that exist as liquids. Are you ready for a quiz? See which alchemy element suits your personality. Share Your Results Element Color Quiz You got: % Correct. Comfortable With Element Colors Thinkstock Images / Getty Images Good job! You are familiar with the appearance of some of the elements on the periodic table. Or, if you're not, then you're good at guessing what the elements look like based on what you do know about them. Where can you go from here? You can browse the element photo gallery to see the elements in all their glory. Ready for another quiz? See which element suits your personality best. Or, since you know the colors now, see if you can tell what an element is based on its picture. Share Your Results Element Color Quiz You got: % Correct. Conquered the Element Colors Quiz Gael Conrad / Getty Images Excellent! You know so much about element colors, it's practically scary. Also, you probably realize most of them are gray or silver metals, so that's always a good guess. If you like, you can review essential facts about the chemical elements. Ready for another quiz? See how much weird science you know. You might learn something new! Share Your Results